Tag Archive: Air Force

Thank You Veterans , God Bless You

Uploaded on Nov 16, 2010

” This is a video I did to honor and thank all United States military personnel, past and present, for the selfless sacrifices they make to keep our nation free. It was used for our church’s annual Veterans Day Celebration on November 14, 2010.

I’m paying special honor to my grandfather, RICHARD A. PESTKE, who was a photographer in the US Navy during WWII. His picture is at the 2:20 mark of the video.

PLEASE, NO PROFANITY IN COMMENTS! I want this video to be something families and children can view without offense. If you use profanity your comments will be removed. If it continues I may shut off the ability to leave comments. I don’t want to do that, so PLEASE don’t use profanity. It’s not necessary. Thank you!

One last thing. I’m sorry for the random “flickering” on the video. You can thank Microsoft for making such a poor software program called “Windows Movie Maker.” I won’t be using it again for any more major projects. Now I know why most graphics experts like using Macs.

All images were taken from Google images and the sound effects from YouTube or sounddogs.com. A special “thank you” to Mr. Dustin Evans for the use of his song “If I Die Before You Wake.” “

” A 19-year Air Force veteran who was relieved of his duties because he disagreed with his openly gay commander over gay marriage is now facing a formal investigation after he told me his story.

Senior Master Sgt. Phillip Monk found himself at odds with his Lackland Air Force Base commander after he objected to her plans to severely punish an instructor who had expressed religious objections to homosexuality. During the conversation, his commander ordered him to share his personal views on homosexuality.

“I was relieved of my position because I don’t agree with my commander’s position on gay marriage,” he told me. “We’ve been told that if you publicly say that homosexuality is wrong, you are in violation of Air Force policy.” “

” A newly designed Chinese stealth drone is ready for its first flight test after completing its taxi test last December at an unknown airfield in the southeastern province of Jiangxi, reports Duowei News, an outlet operated by overseas Chinese.

The prototype means China is ahead of several nations in the development of stealth drones, including Britain. Russia, India, Sweden, Italy, Iran and Israel, which also have their own stealth unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) programs.”

” REDUCED FLYING HOURS FORCES GROUNDING OF 17 U.S. AIR FORCE SQUADRONS BEING GROUNDED DUE TO REDUCED FLYING HOURS. See complete list below.

““Historically, the Air Force has not operated under a tiered readiness construct because of the need to respond to any crisis within a matter of hours or days,” Hostage said in the statement. “The current situation means we’re accepting the risk that combat airpower may not be ready to respond immediately to new contingencies as they occur.” — ACC Commander Gen. Mike Hostage”

From the AIR FORCE TIMES, link is below:” WASHINGTON — The Air Force will begin grounding combat air squadrons Tuesday in response to forced spending cuts that have eliminated more than 44,000 flying hours through September, according to internal documents obtained by Air Force Times.

The Air Force’s budget for flying hours was reduced by $591 million for the remainder of fiscal 2013, making it impossible to keep all squadrons ready for combat, according to an April 5 memo signed by Maj. Gen. Charles Lyon, director of operations for Air Combat Command. The across-the board spending cuts, called sequestration, took effect March 1 when Congress failed to agree on a deficit-reduction plan.

Seventeen combat-coded squadrons will stand down effective Tuesday or upon their return from deployments, according to the documents. The Air Force will distribute 241,496 flying hours that are funded to squadrons that will be kept combat ready or at a reduced readiness level called “basic mission capable” for part or all of the remaining months in fiscal 2013, the documents said.

“Units will stand down on a rotating basis so our limited resources can be focused on fulfilling critical missions,” ACC Commander Gen. Mike Hostage said in a statement.

The grounding includes F-22s from the 1st Fighter Wing’s 94th Fighter Squadron at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va. The squadron is returning from a deployment to the Pacific where airmen participated in a high-profile exercise in South Korea.

The other grounded units include B-52s from the 2nd and 5th Bomb Wings, F-15Es from the 336th, 492nd, 494th and 391s Fighter Squadrons; F-16s from the 77th Fighter Squadron, 555th Fighter Squadron, 18th Aggressor Squadron and the Thunderbirds; and A-10s from the 81st Fighter Squadron, which will close as a result of the fiscal 2013 National Defense Authorization Act.

Grounded associate units — active units sharing aircraft with Air National Guard and Reserve units — include the 158th, 169th, 187th, 442nd and 917th squadrons. Only active-duty pilots in those units are affected by the standdown.

Any flying hours not used by the grounded squadrons will be reallocated to meet Air Combat Command requirements. Additionally, all combat aircraft will stand down the last seven operation and maintenance days in September, the memo said.

“Historically, the Air Force has not operated under a tiered readiness construct because of the need to respond to any crisis within a matter of hours or days,” Hostage said in the statement. “The current situation means we’re accepting the risk that combat airpower may not be ready to respond immediately to new contingencies as they occur.”

Air Force officials had warned that mandatory budget cuts would lead to a reduction of flying hours by 18 percent, with readiness dropping to “sub-optimal levels,” according to information provided to Congress. The drop in flying hours would mean that it could take up to six months to repair the damage to readiness, the Air Force warned lawmakers in a February presentation.

Average aircrews lose currency to fly combat missions within 90 to 120 days of being grounded, and it takes from 60 to 90 days to conduct training to return aircrews o mission-ready status, according to Air Combat Command.

“We’re entering uncharted territory in terms of how we’ve had to take this year’s cuts and make adjustments to mitigate the most serious impacts,” Hostage said. “Remaining as mission-ready as possible for combatant commanders is our priority, and we’re prioritizing spending to ensure this imperative is met.”

Units and aircraft affectedAir Combat Command officials announced a stand down and reallocation of flying hours for the rest of the fiscal year due to mandatory budget cuts. The limitation of flying hours means squadrons will stand down or maintain readiness at the reduced “basic mission capable” level, while others will remain at full “combat mission ready.”

” Most people understand that we have a massive military industrial complex (MIC.) Defense contractors and government partner to develop weapon systems and improve our “war fighting” capabilities. Massive amounts of money got to the Pentagon and contractors.

Take a look at this amazing video recently produced by the Air Force introducing drones which act and look like birds and insects. There are powered by the sun, wind, power lines, even “vibrating machinery.” It is truly mind blowing technology. How would you like a swarm of these things floating around your town? ”

” 1/22/2013 – AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy (AFNS) — Airmen assigned to the 603rd Air Control Squadron here were greeted by hundreds of family members and friends Jan. 19 as they returned home from their final deployment in Southwest Asia before the squadron is inactivated later this year.

The 603rd ACS, one of two Air Force theater air control systems in Europe, is being inactivated as part of a larger effort to help meet Budget Control Act resource levels.

The squadron has a rich history with roots reaching back to the very beginnings of the Air Force. It was officially activated as the 603rd ACS on Dec. 31, 1945 under the Army Air Corps. The squadron’s early years provided air control for major air operations, including support of the Berlin Airlift.”

” The launch starts the third mission in three years for the robotic X-37 fleet, assembled in Boeing’s now-shuttered Building 31 in Huntington Beach, California, for an estimated $1 billion apiece. But for all the time spent in orbit by the two school bus-size spacecraft — 693 days in all — it’s no more clear today precisely what the Air Force has been up to with the X-37s.

Officially, the solar- and battery-powered X-37s are strictly experimental craft, meant to “demonstrate technologies for a reliable, reusable, unmanned space test platform” while also “operating experiments which can be returned to, and examined, on Earth,” according to the Air Force.

But the Air Force has consistently declined to state exactly what those experiments might be. And in theory the X-37s could also carry spy sensors or gear for hacking enemy satellites. That and the lack of specific information has elicited protests from the Chinese government, which has vowed to build a space plane of its own.

The opacity also makes a mockery of the State Department’s international campaign for greater space transparency.”

” You may have seen our post about the Autozone employee who was fired for retrieving his personal handgun from his truck and stopping an armed robbery at the AutoZone store he worked at. McLean was fired two days later for violating the company’s policy on firearms in the workplace.

There is now some more info coming out that Devin previously served his country in the Air Force and is expecting his first baby (a boy) by the end of December.

In order to help Devin out, the administrator of a Boycott AutoZone Facebook Page has setup a donation page where you can make a donation. “

” An Air Force F-22 Raptor fighter jet crashed near a Florida Panhandle highway Thursday, but the pilot was able to eject safely and there were no injuries on the ground, the military said.

The single-seat stealth fighter, part of a program that has been plagued with problems, went down Thursday afternoon near Tyndall Air Force Base, just south of Panama City on The Gulf of Mexico. The pilot received medical treatment and a section of Highway 98 that runs through the base was closed as rescuers responded. “

The U.S. Air Force has just taken delivery of the first GBU-57A/B (Massive Ordnance Penetrator). It weighs 30,000 lb and will penetrate 200 ft of hardened concrete BEFORE it goes off. If you are reading this from an underground nuclear facility in Iran or North Korea, might we suggest some extended sick leave is (or soon will be) in order.”

” An unmanned aircraft was shot down by the Israeli air force Saturday after it crossed the southern region of the country, Reuters reported.

The report said it is unclear where the aircraft originated. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tells Fox News the unmanned aircraft did not depart from the Gaza strip.

The aircraft flew over Israel for less than thirty minutes and did not carry any explosives on board, sources told Fox News. IDF spokesperson Yoav Mordechai said the aircraft was monitored and accompanied by fighter planes throughout its flight and it was possible to shoot it down at any stage.

Israel radio reported that it appeared to be an intelligence gathering drone.”

These are only the recipients we have thus fire identified and confirmed. USMC totals are believed 100% complete. We believe Navy and USAF totals to be about 90% complete, but estimate that the Army may have as many as 100 recipients not yet identified in our database.

Army

Navy*

Marines

Air Force

TOTAL

Iraq

178

10

73

10

270

Afghanistan

88

1

4

18

111

Total

265

28*

77

28

398

*Published news reports indicate that as of March 2008, TWENTY-THREE U.S. Navy SEALs have been awarded the Silver Star in GWOT. We have thus far identified only FOUR of them.